Qantas, Emirates partnership launches with incredible Sydney flyover

The two A380s cruised in formation over the city's iconic harbor at an altitude of 1,500 feet.

Forget the Easter bunny.

Aviation enthusiasts and plane spotters were far more excited by the Sunday launch of the Qantas/Emirates partnership.

The official kickoff of the new "kangaroo route" was marked by an impressive tandem flight. Two A380 superjumbos -- one from each airline -- took off from Sydney Airport for a stunning flyover across two of Sydney's most photographed icons, the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

The tandem A380s pass over Sydney Opera House. The flyover is believed to be the first time anywhere in the world in which two commercial airline A380's have flown in formation.

The passenger jets cruised over the Sydney landmarks at an altitude of 1,500 feet at approximately 10:30 a.m. Qantas Chief Pilot Captain Philip Green said the airlines worked together extremely closely prior to the flight.

“There has been a huge amount of planning which has been necessary to make this possible including seeking approval from safety regulators in both Australia and the United Arab Emirates," he said.

“Pilots from both airlines have conducted dozens of special simulator training sessions since January this year. Emirates pilots came to Australia earlier this month to conduct joint sessions in Qantas’ A380 simulator in Sydney and conducted several more practice runs over the past few days.”

What does it mean for travelers?

The Airbus A380 flyover is believed to be the first of its kind between two separate airlines.

Though it was the flyover that caught the world's attention, the Qantas/Emirates alliance is likely to be an attractive proposition for Aussies looking to hit Europe.

Australia's competition watchdog approved the partnership on March 27. It allows the two carriers to combine operations for an initial period of five years, including the coordination of schedules, ticket prices and networks.

The new partnership benefits its frequent flyers in particular, with the airlines offering reciprocal access to tier status benefits, including end-to-end recognition of customers, lounge access and priority check-in and boarding.

The partnership also carries over to baggage policies, meaning an increase in allowance for Qantas’ economy checked baggage from 23 kilograms to 30 kilograms.

Qantas says over 210,000 sectors have already been booked on the joint network, with the airline seeing a six-fold increase in bookings to Europe in the first nine weeks of sales compared to the same period last year.

Are you a regular on the kangaroo route? Will you prefer flying through Dubai instead of Singapore? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.

Karla is a digital producer with CNN Travel based in Bangkok, Thailand.